The Tan Hot Dog Build

[Jsweezy]

The show must go on!

So as everyone knows or maybe doesn't know I was trying to sell this van. Apparently this van is a curse because everyone absolutely loves this van when I am out and about but no-one wanted to buy it. Oh except for the guy that low balled me.

Either way its me myself and this van still so I am going to continue to build it the way I want which includes a side window. I am going install the rear passenger side window first to see if that will suffice because id love to use the drivers side rear for storage sleeping etc. I am going to go with the window that fits in the stock location so if all goes well it should look like it came from the factory with that window except with a frame and a t slider, so maybe not really ha ha.

But I did make some progress today and like they say, 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

1 step forward = moving the rear shock mounts on the axle back to their stock location. Advanced had moved them up and out of the way on it which is cool and all but when I would put the van on the lift I realized that all of the axle weight was hanging by those shocks. Not so great. I still had the shocks I ordered from Ujoint for the rear way back in the beginning of this thread so I moved the mounts for those to fit correctly and now I am happy.




2 steps back = First step, while under the van today MG noticed that the transmission mount on the crossmember wasn't a stock ford mount. For whatever reason Advanced wanted to do a custom job on the mount which made all the dots connect in my head as to why my transfer case hangs a little lower than the others and why my driveline angle looks good without a CV joint on the transfer case side.



Second step - Realizing that I will now be needing not only the stock ford transmission mount but also a new rear driveline and now the exhaust won't be getting fixed until those are done.

All in all I am happy I still have the van and am learning more and more each day.

[boywonder]

I'm curious about your new leaf springs......can you measure from the ground to somewhere on the body or frame with the van on level ground?....just curious about how much lift you have without any axle spacers.

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by boywonder

I'm curious about your new leaf springs......can you measure from the ground to somewhere on the body or frame with the van on level ground?....just curious about how much lift you have without any axle spacers.

I just measured that today to compare to my van... from the ground to top of the rear wheel well was 44" on the Tan hot dog.

[Flux]

Good on ya J!! Never give up the struggle!

I learned what a CV joint is today. And going backwards a Pitman Arm, Idler Arm and Tie Rods.

But yeah, You have a great rig and are dialing it in underneath. The topside stuff is easy, just takes a while.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

I just measured that today to compare to my van... from the ground to top of the rear wheel well was 44" on the Tan hot dog.

...so inboard of where the bushwackers would mount.....directly above the tire?

...or to the fender lip?

Thanks

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by boywonder

...so inboard of where the bushwackers would mount.....directly above the tire?

...or to the fender lip?

Thanks

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

...so is that considered a 6" lift?

[Jsweezy]

Nope that is 4" lift springs from Ujoint.

One thing I learned is that no-one says that its only 4" of lift with stock tires. So in reality because no-one is going to stick with stock sized tires on a lifted van, a 4" lift is more of a 6" lift when its all said and done (4" of suspension lift, 1.5-2" of tire lift).

[Jsweezy]

Originally Posted by Flux

Good on ya J!! Never give up the struggle!

I learned what a CV joint is today. And going backwards a Pitman Arm, Idler Arm and Tie Rods.

But yeah, You have a great rig and are dialing it in underneath. The topside stuff is easy, just takes a while.

Thanks! I will say this, none of this stuff makes sense until you have to repair it or replace it and then you will never forget what part it is. I didn't know half the stuff I do now until I just jumped right in so enjoy the ride!

And ya I know I have a sweet van, I think the long list of repairs has just wore me out. I have literally replaced or repaired everything mechanical except for the engine/transmission/transfer case.

But I will say this, there are positives to keeping this van. I only have to wash it once a month because the color hides the dirt amazingly. I dont have to worry about nicks or scratches anywhere because it already has "Character" so I will actually use it as I want to and not worry. But most importantly, I will know without a doubt that this van is good to go and if something brakes I will know how to get to it and fix it without blinking. Besides I have already put so much time and effort into making this van right that I would definitely miss it.

[Flux]

I have a mountain to climb too. I toss and turn about how to solve a silly problem and then get happy when I have a plan. My biggest fear is not doing a good job on the interior. I really want it to be nice!!

Hang in there.